Christmas 2003
After my eye healed up from last year’s manger building debacle, I had hoped to avoid the hospital and doctors for awhile. Unfortunately that turned out not to be the case as Grayson had to have tubes put in his ears in January, a trip to the ER in April (after he tripped on the bed rail, attempting to walk out of his “big boy” bed), and another ER trip (including an ambulance ride) for what turned out to be a sudden onset version of “The Croup”. But through it all, God has blessed us and we have lots of interesting stories to tell as well as the fact that Grayson won’t get out of his bed without us in the room.
At the end of January, Kevin and Heather ended up needing a place to stay for a nearby seminar in which they were participating. It was wonderful getting them for a good long visit. It was refreshing to get a perspective on things outside of the United States, and hear about their work, and it was also amusing to watch them stock up on supplies like Cocoa Puffs and peanut butter. Kevin managed to teach Grayson to point to himself anytime someone asks him “who’s the man?”. And Grayson immediately wanted Heather to read books to him as soon as he met her. The highlight of their trip, though, was the quality time we got to spend with them and to hear about their work. They have recently moved to Istanbul, Turkey, which is a big change for them.
This summer we really took advantage of our neighborhood pools. It took a few trips to get Grayson accustomed to the water, but by the end of the summer (as the water warmed up), Grayson was really enjoying floating around in his water-wings and going down the giant water slide with Becky and I. Before we would even land in pool he would be saying “again!”
In July, Grayson spent a week with my parents. This enabled us to repaint his room and get a few things done around the house as well as a rare opportunity for us to go to a Braves game and to the movies. Grayson’s trip to “Cody’s House” was so positive that we are thinking of making it an annual tradition.
In early October, Brandon Corfman and his wife Doris came to visit. It was great really getting to know Doris and to spend some quality time with them both. While they were hear we indoctrinated them a bit into the local “War of Northern Aggression” history by taking them to see “The General” (the famous locomotive that was stolen and recovered during “The Great Locomotive Chase”) as well as the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. Both landmarks are relatively close to our home.
In October, we took some much needed vacation time in North Carolina with my parents. It was a great opportunity to get away and to see the leaves again. During the trip we all went on the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad. Grayson loves trains and it was really fun to see him enjoy the “choo-choo”.
In November, we made two trips to Florida. First we went to Gainesville, for my Dad’s 60th birthday. It was great getting back home for a few days and especially getting to see my whole family and to celebrate. For Thanksgiving we drove to Pensacola to spend time with Becky’s family. Dee took care of the dinner and Becky’s grandmother brought the pies for dessert. It was a typical North Florida Thanksgiving – a serious feast, a great time of catching up with family, and temperatures that varied from 80 to 30 degrees. Grayson really enjoyed the beach – throwing sand, picking up shells, and pointing out all the “geese” (seagulls) that he saw.
Between the tubes, speech therapy, and the natural learning process Grayson has definitely improved his ability to communicate. Since last year he has really started to verbalize things. He is quick to point out his favorite things — “cookies please”, “I see backhoe (or horses, puppies, lights, etc…)”, and “eat more chicken” (Truett Cathy would be so proud).
Becky and I are doing well. With some changes with my work this year, it is possible that I will have to travel more. Besides a few additional trips to Arizona this year, I have been fortunate to keep most of the trips limited to short jaunts to Tennessee. Becky continues to enjoy scrap booking in her rare free moments and I continue to attempt to learn photography. Our two hobbies compliment each other well (as long as I am taking photographs that are suitable for her scrap books).
We continue to enjoy our church and are very excited about the building campaign that will allow us to permanently move from a local high school to our own place sometime in the next three years.
May God bless you this Christmas season and coming new year.